Not Even Underneath A Mistletoe
by Dana Doggett
Summary: The best Christmas presents aren't always the ones that you find wrapped underneath a tree.


Title: Not Even Underneath A Mistletoe

Author: Dana Doggett

E-mail:

Website: .com/

Dates: December 16-17, 2009

Distribution: Semper Fi, Serenity of X, We Shall Not Forget. All others please ask.

Rating: PG

Category: Doggett/Scully

Timeline: Season 9 Pretending that Mulder never came back to life in season 8 and pretending that Scully never had a baby by means of miscarriage due to too much stress in her life. This makes writing fluff a bit easier.

Beta: Little Albatross

Summary: The best Christmas presents aren't always the ones that you find wrapped underneath a tree.

Author's Note: This was written on a whim, fulfilling my desire to write a new Doggett/Scully story for Christmas.

Dedication: I want to dedicate this story to Claudine, over the past year our online friendship has continued to grow and if it weren't for her some of those fun little DSR threads on SoX wouldn't seem so thorough. Mele Kalikimaka!

Disclaimer: I do not own "The X-Files", John Doggett, Dana Scully, or any other characters that you recognize from "The X-Files" TV series or movies. "The X-Files" and related characters are owned by 20th Century Fox Broadcasting, and Ten-Thirteen Productions. I'm borrowing them here to bring some holiday joy to fellow Doggett/Scully fans.

----------

DECEMBER 24, 2001 FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA JOHN DOGGETT'S HOME 10 P.M.

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus, You're as charming as an eel. Mr. Grinch."

John Doggett kneels on the ground, bent over, holding onto the hands of his six year old niece, Rebecca, as they both sing along with "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" which is on TV. A winter storm warning alert scrolls along the bottom of the screen for Fairfax county and other surrounding areas in northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.

John's keeping warm this Christmas Eve in his favorite pair of well-  
worn jeans and gray long-sleeved T-shirt. Rebecca is all ready for Santa to come, wearing her Frosty The Snowman pajamas.

Rebecca giggles endlessly as her Uncle John wrinkles his forehead and sings with a deep, Grinch like voice.

"You're a bad banana With a greasy black peel."

He releases one of his hands from hers and pokes her right on the nose, she giggles even more than she was a moment ago.

"C'mon, 'Becca, you gotta sing along with me." He speaks with encouragement.

"You're making me laugh! I can't!" She squeals with delight.

"You're a monster, Mr. Grinch. Your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders, You've got garlic in your soul. Mr. Grinch."

Their singing is interrupted by a mother's authoritative cough, signaling to Uncle John that it's time for Rebecca to get to bed. John looks over and sees his sister, Karen. She's wrapped up in her warm terry cloth robe, her blue-gray flannel pajamas are too long for her and as she walks they get stepped on underneath the heels of her feet. Her light-brown hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail.

"Santa's never going to get here if you two don't get to bed." She winks at her brother.

John looks at Rebecca in a very serious way.

"She's right, kid. If we don't get to bed before midnight, Santa's time will run out and he won't get to stop here and bring us our presents."

John places a loose strand of Rebecca's hair behind her ear as the child's eyes widen with both a hint of fear and much more excitement.

"I gotta go brush my teeth!"

Rebecca runs out of the living room and into the hallway towards the guest bathroom just underneath the stairs leading up to John's bedroom.

John stands up and runs his hand through his hair and looks at his younger sister. He opens his arms to her and gives her a big bear hug.

"It's so good to have you, 'Becca, and mom up here for the holidays."

"We should do it more often. And don't you be afraid to come back home and visit us too. Mom may like traveling, but it doesn't get any easier for her as she gets older."

John and Karen sit down on the couch. Karen props her feet up on the coffee table and sinks into the cushions. She yawns.

"I know we promised not to talk about work, but... you've got me curious, Johnny." She rolls her head to the right to look at him.

"It's not exactly where I thought I'd ever be, but..."

"But...?"

"Under the circumstances I wouldn't have it any other way." He pauses. "It's a division focused on investigating aspects of the paranormal."

Karen bursts out laughing, thinking that he's lying to her. She's tickled that he was able to say that to her with a straight face.

"No, Kare', I'm not pullin' your leg on this one." He leans toward her. "The division is called the X-Files, it's a part of Criminal Investigations."

"Had any visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past?" She can barely keep herself from laughing.

"Ha. Ha." He lightly punches his sister on the shoulder.

"Is your partner a skeptic like yourself, or is he one of those new age types who contacts spirits on the other side?"

"She." He rubs his finger underneath his nose. "And she's like me, needs proof, just doesn't believe on a whim."

Karen takes notice of her brother's nervous habit of rubbing his finger underneath his nose. She cocks an eyebrow, wanting to know more about this "she".

"Is she single?"

John takes a deep breath. Sure, Dana is single, but he's not sure if she's available, and no matter how much he hopes for some kind of sign or signal from her, he has no idea if she'd even be interested in him in the way that he knows his sister is inquiring about.

"Yes... but don't get any ideas."

"Who said anything about ideas?"

"I know that question when I hear it... 'is she single?', that means that you're really asking me if I'm attracted to her. Even worse, you're inquiring if I'm dating her."

"Are you?"

"I can't be."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that she's in love with another guy."

"I thought you said that she's single."

"She is."

"Then I'm not following. If she's single then how can she be in love with someone else?"

"He died this past spring."

"That doesn't mean that the heart can't love again."

"I know, but..."

"But what? You can't tell me that if you had another child that you wouldn't love him or her just as much as you loved Luke."

John gives his sister a look. He knows that she means well, but like with Monica Reyes, she sure has a knack for bringing up his late son when she knows very well that it is a topic he'd prefer not talking about.

Karen sighs and tries again.

"Has she shown any signs of wanting to get to know you better outside of work?" She sits up and reaches out and touches John on the arm.

"We go out for lunch a couple times a week, if that's what you mean."

"Ok, that's something, but what I mean is has she shown you any signs, physically, that she'd be interested in seeing how you two might work out together?" She smiles. "It's quite obvious that you're carrying a torch for her."

John tries his best not to rub the back of his neck, as he looks his sister in the eyes. Dana has shown him some signs of interest lately, but he's not sure if the signs are coming from her own genuine feelings for him or attraction to him.

"What?" Karen prods for more information.

"It's stupid."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"She... uh... she... I think sometimes I catch her gazing at my lips."

He coughs nervously, feeling like some silly adolescent boy coming to the realization that the hot girl in his English class thinks he's cute and has been flirting with him without his realizing it until much, much later.

Karen's eyes widen upon hearing this. After watching her brother tackle the single life for seven years (after an amicable divorce and serious commitment to his career), she's excited to see that perhaps there's a sign of life for his love life.

"She's into you." She leans back into the corner of the couch with a sense of pride in herself for helping her brother figure this out.

"I don't know, Kare'." He rubs the back of his neck. "I don't think it's right to make that assumption, especially since you've never even met her."

"What's her name?"

"Agent Scully."

Now it is Karen's turn to punch her brother lightly on the shoulder.

"Her first name, stupid."

"Dana."

"Pretty name."

"Yeah."

Karen eyes her brother for a few seconds, wondering if he'll offer up any more information on this Dana Scully. She watches him sit there, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Some things never change." She smiles at him.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." She stands up. "'Becca likes getting up early, especially on Christmas. Mom was smart to go to bed earlier."

"Need help pulling out the sofa sleeper?" John stands up.

"I think I can manage."

"It's not a bother, go on, make sure 'Becca brushed her teeth and has run that brush of hers through her hair at least one-hundred times before bed. I'll get the sofa sleeper ready for you and 'Becca."

Karen smiles and pats John on the back to show her appreciation. She makes her way out of the living room and down the hallway to the guest bathroom where her daughter is running her favorite pink brush through her hair. She's all ready for her beauty sleep.

---

GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND MARGARET SCULLY'S HOME 10:44 P.M.

Christmas lights adorn most of the homes on Margaret Scully's street. Snow falls heavily from the sky, covering footprints of children that were set in the snow from a snowball fight earlier that day, including the prints of Matthew Scully, Bill's son, and that of his uncle Charles.

A snowman complete with charcoal eyes, carrot nose and tree branches as arms stands front and center in the front yard. The white Christmas lights glitter like ice crystals, shining brightly against the house.

The front door opens and laughter erupts into this quiet neighborhood. Dana, Margaret, Bill Jr., Matthew, and Charles make their way down the driveway. Bill's wife, Tara, stands in the doorway as she is all ready to hit the sheets, wearing pastel blue pajamas and slippers. She pats her son, Matthew, on the head as he runs out the door to be with his uncle Charles who is, as always, the loud-mouth of the bunch.

"No, look, I'm telling you, dad told me that he crossed the Royal Domain of the Emperor Penguin, sixty-six, thirty-two south latitude, no joke!" Charles Scully, the joker of the family states ecstatically.

Dana wraps her gray scarf around her neck and gives him a look, raising her eyebrow to new, unprecedented heights.

"If that's true, Charles, don't you think that dad would have told us all about it?" Dana is skeptical. "Dad wasn't exactly the type to let a story about navigating through blizzards while freezing, shivering and other miseries - that could only come with those unfortunate enough to cross the Antarctic Circle be a tall tale."

Margaret steps in between the two siblings and hugs Dana.

"It seems as the years pass the more..." She gives Charles a look. "... colorful stories about dad are becoming."

Charles pretends to be insulted by the look that he's receiving from his mother and sister.

"Hey, have I ever been one to make up lies about dad?"

Bill Jr. picks up Matthew and holds him in his arms.

"Oh plenty of times, Stubb. I don't think anyone will ever forget how in high school you tried to blame an empty bottle of cognac on dad." Bill smirks.

"How was I supposed to know that that fancy bottle was supposed to be a gift for his ship's Admiral?"

"Dad hated cognac, I thought that was common knowledge back then. He preferred beer, straight from the can."

Margaret turns her attention back to her daughter, they share a look.

"It's nice to see Charles for a change."

"Yes, it is. Even if this is his first Christmas without that Adrienne." Margaret pauses, thinking if she should say anything more about her youngest son's ex-wife. "Dana, honey, are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?"

"I'll be fine, mom. They've known this storm was coming for a couple days now, and they always do a really good job cleaning up the interstate."

"Dad, I want a car for Christmas!" Matthew looks his dad in the eyes and pouts as everyone else laughs at his exclamation.

Dana goes up to Matthew, who remains perched in his father's arms, and places a kiss on his cheek. He quickly wipes it away. Dana smiles.

"I miss the time when you didn't wipe my kisses away, kid-o." She smiles and goes up on her toes to give Bill a kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, little sis'." Bill returns her kiss.

Charles wraps his arms around Dana and pulls her into a hug.

"You'll be here tomorrow, right? Bright and early?" He very nearly gives her a noogie, she stops him before he can ruin her nicely placed hair.

"Seven o'clock." She pulls out of his embrace and gives her mom one last hug before leaving. "I love you, mom." She kisses her on the cheek.

"I love you too." She pauses as she watches Dana make her way carefully down the icy driveway to her car. "Drive carefully!"

"I always do!" Dana waves and gets into her car and pulls out of the driveway.

She checks her wristwatch, it's ten minutes until eleven o'clock. She yawns and turns on the radio and hears the end of a weather update. She flips through the channels she has programmed and stops on a station playing "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon. She stops at a red light and turns on her right blinker. She removes her driving gloves as her car is warming up and she checks her phone for any messages, there are none. She rubs her hands together and breathes warm air onto the backside of her hands to help warm them up.

"And so happy Christmas For black and for white For yellow and red ones Let's stop all the fight A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear"

Dana sighs. The lyrics of this song couldn't be truer. Ever since Nine-  
Eleven, and the beginning of the War in Afghanistan earlier this year, it seems there's less and less tolerance for others. Yes, the terrorist attacks on this country in September did bring out a sense of patriotism and unity in the country, but there is also the side of this country that the media doesn't often cover.

She's seen it for herself on the streets of D.C., read about it in the back pages of the newspaper, has heard buzz around the Bureau regarding racial profiling, and she's sad to see that some of her fellow Americans are unjustly treating people of Arab descent poorly.

She wishes that people would understand that just because a few extremists in the world decide to murder innocent people, that that does not mean that all Muslims or Arabs are as disgusting as the more well-known representatives of the Middle East, the ones who plotted and followed through with their vile acts of terror.

"And so this is Christmas And what have we done Another year over And a new one just begun"

She's caught off guard when she feels the sting of tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She feels like her heart has been ripped open. A year ago she did her best to remain optimistic about finding Mulder. She had a new partner at the FBI who was as determined as she was to find him.

A year ago her worst nightmare had not yet been realized and the thought of seeing Mulder again got her through the pain she suffered when she miscarried their child early on in her pregnancy.

She felt as though a part of her soul had slipped away with Mulder when they found him dead in a field. When she stood by Skinner at Mulder's funeral this past spring and threw a handful of dirt on top of his coffin she felt like she couldn't go on without him.

The red light turns green and snaps her out of her thoughts, and she continues to make her way back home. She wipes a tear from her face as she merges onto the highway.

"A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear War is over over If you want it War is over Now..."

After Mulder's funeral she found it difficult to find the strength to get herself up and out of bed in the morning in order to go to work. She told Skinner she was going to take some time off and to explain this to Doggett. She didn't do much for the first three weeks, she spent most of her time alone, reaching out only to speak with her mother who encouraged her to get out and be with friends. They talked a lot about losing the love of your life and how that person wouldn't want you sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, and how Mulder would want her to live life and be happy.

One weekend afternoon there was a knock on her door. It was John Doggett, her partner at the FBI. He dropped by to bring her some home-  
made chocolate chip cookies that he threw together (her favorite).

She welcomed him into her home and at first things were awkward between them, and then he did something that she didn't expect. He sat down with her, at her kitchen table, and talked about losing his son. He had only mentioned his son's murder case in passing, never giving away too much detail, but that afternoon, he opened up to her. It was his way of letting her know that he understands the pain that she was feeling. That even though at work they were often at odds, that despite their differences he really did know what it felt like to lose someone you love very much.

After hearing what he had to say about losing his son to murder, the case remaining unsolved after all these years, and how he coped with his grief, she found it much easier to talk to him about what she was feeling.

Though she had talked at length with her mother about this, she found it very therapeutic to sort out her feelings with John. She talked about how for the first few days she would wake up and try to forget that Mulder was dead. Then how she blamed God and herself for what had happened. How she thought she should have been with Mulder in Oregon the night he disappeared and how maybe, just maybe her being there would have prevented him from being taken.

By this point she was crying, she had never let John see her so vulnerable or emotional before.

She told him how she would pray every night, begging God to bring him back, and then when rationale kicked in, she stayed at home and would cry alone. This was where she was at emotionally when John Doggett threw professionalism to the side and stepped in to be her friend, and a comforting shoulder to cry on.

After his visit that weekend she went back to work, and from there things got easier. That isn't to say that she got over what happened, she'll never get over losing Mulder, but things did get better. She found it easier to work with John, she didn't feel so on-guard anymore. She let the walls come down that she had built up between them, and this made for a much more relaxed and productive working relationship.

This past summer they started going to lunch together at the mess hall at the FBI, and by the fall they were taking their lunch breaks out of the office, trying out a couple new restaurants that had opened up near the J. Edgar Hoover building.

She's actually surprised that John didn't call her to wish her a Merry Christmas tonight, but then again he did say that his family was coming up to spend the holiday with him.

She feels she should have invited him and his family over to her mom's tonight, but she didn't want her brothers getting the wrong idea. Sure enough, if she had invited John over, they would have found a way to tease her about it. Especially Charles, he would have made never-ending jokes about how he thinks they are dating. She shakes her head and laughs to herself, her brothers never really grew out of boyhood.

Perhaps tomorrow she'll stop by John's before making her way over to her mom's to open presents with the family. Surely he wouldn't mind one more person in his home on Christmas morning. Plus she does have a present to give to him.

---

FALLS CHURCH, VA JOHN DOGGETT'S HOME 11:15 P.M.  
John makes his way through his house, checking to make sure that all doors and windows are locked and bolted. He adjusts the furnace in the dining room to add a little more heat to his home. The wind has picked up and a few drafty windows have made the indoor temperature drop a few degrees.

He turns off the light in his kitchen and walks through the dark and into the living room where his sister and niece are curled up on the sofa sleeper together. Quietly, he unfolds an afghan that was hanging on the back of a chair, and he covers it over the two of them.

He makes his way upstairs to his bedroom and turns off the light in the stairway. He slips off his shoes and kicks them underneath his bed as he pulls his long-sleeved T-shirt up over his head and drops it onto the floor.

Just as he's about to unbutton his jeans he hears someone making their way up to his room. The way his house is laid out, he doesn't have the luxury of a bedroom door, the stairs lead directly into his room.

"John Jay...?"

He hears his mother's voice and then sees the top of her head as she reaches the top of the stairs. She looks older than she is due to having smoked quite a lot in her younger years. Her hair is a whiting gray and rests on her shoulders.

"Ma? What're you doing up at this hour?"

He goes to his mom and helps her up the last couple of steps.

"You really ought to put on a shirt, John Jay, it's cold outside. I don't know how you boys can sleep with nothin' on but boxer shorts."

John helps his mother sit down on the edge of his bed. He sits next to her, holding her hand.

"Well, Ma... I was in the middle of changing into sweats, thought I'd spare you seein' me in my boxer shorts."

"Hells bells, I changed your diapers when you were a baby and Lord knows I've seen my share of naked male anatomy in my lifetime, you haven't got anything that I haven't seen before."

John chuckles and shakes his head. His mom sure has a way with words.

"You doin' all right, ma? You used to sleep through the nights no matter how loud Karen and I would get fighting over our shared bathroom."

"I just wanted to sit down with you, alone, and tell you how much I love you, that's all." She reaches out and holds his face in her hands and kisses him on the cheek.

"I know you better than that, Ma." He pauses. "Something must be bothering you otherwise you'd be sleepin' like a baby."

His mom looks away from him and focuses her eyes on her hands, more specifically at the silver wedding band on her right hand, signifying that she is a widow. This doesn't go unnoticed by John. He runs his hand over the top of his mom's head with affection.

"You're thinking of Pa, aren't you?" His voice is soft.

"This is my second Christmas without him, and I can't keep myself from thinking of how badly he wanted to see you get married again and have more grandkids." She isn't crying, but her eyes are glistening with tears.

"I believe that when I do find the right woman and marry again that he'll be there with us." He offers comforting words, even though he doesn't exactly believe what he is saying.

"You're not getting any younger, John Jay. You're forty-one years old, in my time that was considered being an old man..."

"Ma, trust me, forty-one is the new twenty-one."

She gives him a doubtful look, wrinkling her brow.

"Ok, ok, the new thirty-one, but listen-"

"You better be tellin' me that you've got a girlfriend."

"Not exactly."

"Now what does that mean?"

"It means that I'm testing out the water, seeing if she's interested-"

John's cell phone rings. It concerns him that someone is calling him so late at night. He signals to his mom to "hold that thought" and he picks up his phone.

"Hello?"

"John, hi, it's Dana." Her voice is troubled.

"Why do I suspect this isn't a Merry Christmas call?"

He smiles upon hearing Dana laugh on the other end of his phone.

"Well, it could have been if I had called earlier this evening, as I should have done, but unfortunately I'm calling because I need your help."

"Don't tell me we got called out on a case on Christmas Eve."

"No. No, far from that. I hit a patch of ice on the road and drove my car right into a dune of snow. I'd call my mom, but I'm closer to Falls Church, plus I wouldn't want to-"

"Consider me there. Where are you?"

"I'm stuck in a ditch off of the Beltway, I just passed the Arlington Boulevard exit."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." He pauses to pull his shoes out from underneath his bed. "How's visibility?"

"Not good. With the way the snow is falling, you'll be lucky to see five feet ahead of you."

John senses a touch of worry in her voice. He rests his phone on his shoulder as he sits down on his bed and puts his shoes back on.

"Dana, you'll be fine, just stay in your car and keep warm. I'll find you."

"Bring a shovel. There's deep snow on both sides of my car and I can't get the door to budge."

He hears her struggle to open the door, pushing her arms up against the driver side door.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, just suffering from a good dose of adrenaline, that's all." She pauses, feeling less worried knowing that he's on his way to help her. "John, drive carefully, it looks like the road crew is waiting the storm out before making their rounds with sand and ice."

John stands up and grabs his shirt.

"Hold tight. I'll be there as quickly and as safely as I can."

"I'll just sit here and enjoy the music on the radio." She pauses. "I'll see you soon, but, seriously, John, drive carefully."

"I will. Bye."

He hangs up and looks at his mom, who is looking at him expectantly.

"Was that her?" His mom pries.

"Yes," he laughs, "that was her, Ma."

John pulls his long-sleeved T-shirt over his head and helps his mom off of his bed and helps her go down the stairs and into his guest bedroom. He tucks her into bed, covering her with his down feather blanket. He kisses her on the forehead and leaves, shutting the door behind him.

He throws on his leather jacket and grabs the keys to his truck and heads out to his garage to get a shovel and towing equipment in case he can manage to pull her car out of the snowy ditch. He checks the snow chains that he attached to the tires of his truck before heading out to tackle driving in this winter storm.

---

CAPITAL BELTWAY NEAR THE ARLINGTON BOULEVARD EXIT 11:44 P.M.

Dana sits in her car. She's turned off the engine since she has no way of telling if her car's tailpipe is blocked by ice or snow, and she isn't sure how long it will take John to get to her in this weather and she prefers not to risk death by carbon monoxide. She's kept her seatbelt on just incase another car hits the same patch of ice and flies into her.

Right after she got off the phone with John she did crawl to the backseat of her car and found two fleece blankets to wrap herself in. She used one for herself and she rolled down the window facing the Beltway and stuck the other, a red blanket, out the window so that maybe it would make it easier for John or anyone to see that she is stranded.

She pulls the blanket up around her ears. If ever there was a time she should have listened to her mother and spent the night, it was now. Either that or she should have given in on having perfect hair when she was younger and let her mom make her wear earmuffs.

She sighs and checks her watch. It's been about thirty minutes since she called John. He should be here any minute.

She hopes that he doesn't mind coming to her rescue. She rolls her eyes at herself, who's she kidding, this is right up his alley.

She has only known John for a year and a half, but despite that she feels over the past few months she's come to know him fairly well. She knows that he is a man of dignity, loyalty, honor, virtue and worth. But she also knows that his favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys, despite being born and raised in Atlanta. His favorite NASCAR racers are Jeff Gordon, the late Dale Earnhardt and his son. He's a sucker for Arby's roast beef sandwich and curly fries just as much as he's a sucker for Polish sausage from a street vendor on M Street (with all the garnishes). He tears up watching "Steel Magnolias" and claims that his favorite movie of all time is "The Dirty Dozen", or was it "Cool Hand Luke" or "Slap Shot"?

These past few months have been nice, getting to know him better. They've gone out a few times together after work, but nothing that either of them would dare call a date. From time to time she gets butterflies in her stomach when he leans close to her, or whispers something into her ear when they are watching a movie, or touches her. With John she's remembered how to smile and laugh again. She's relearned what it is like to enjoy the small things in life. She's grown to love him, but when she lingers on this thought she finds herself confused. What kind of love is it that she has for him? She loves him as a friend, but is there something else?

She doesn't have time to ponder this complex emotion as she hears the sound of a horn from a car. She wipes the fog from the car window and peers out and sees that John's truck has pulled up along the side of the highway and he's getting a shovel from the bed of his truck. She watches as he carefully makes his way down the snow-filled ditch to her car. He's also carrying a can of de-icer spray. Good thinking, John, even if her car doors have iced shut he'll be able to use that to get the doors open.

She rolls down the window a few inches and gives him an appreciative smile.

"I should have listened to my mother and spent the night at her place."

He nods his head to acknowledge that he heard her. She watches as he adjusts the knitted winter hat on his head and double checks that no snow will fall into his gloves. He smiles at her.

"You're sure you're not hurt?"

He starts shoveling snow from the side of her car in order to make it possible to open the door.

"I'm fine. Cold, but fine."

"I forgot to bring along hot chocolate, but if we can't get your car pulled up out of this ditch tonight, then I'll make sure to whip you up some hot chocolate when I get you home."

"Sounds like a plan."

"You should have had me install snow chains on your car yesterday. Yeah, you gotta drive under the speed limit, but it helps with traction and helps keep you from slippin' and slidin' around."

He stops shoveling, he's cleared enough snow away from the side of her car. He tugs at the car handle and they hear the ice crack, the door is iced shut. He grins and takes hold of the can of de-icer spray that he placed on the top of her car. He sprays the liquid into the rim of the door. He tugs it open without any problem.

Snow blows into the car's interior and John takes hold of Dana's arm to help her to her feet. She smiles at him.

"You forget how incapable of movement your muscles and joints can be when you allow them to freeze up."

She rubs her hands together and notices that he's looking her over, head to foot, right there in the snowy ditch.

His physical proximity to her is enough to excite her. She gives into the feelings that he makes her feel and enjoys the feel of his gloved hand pushing her hair back to her neck to check for signs of injury.

He moves to stand in front of her. He moves slowly as if taking his time to really see her.

Her eyes follow his face as he touches her forehead with his hand. She parts her lips and allows herself to look at his. She lets out a slow sigh, doing her best not to show him what she is feeling. Inside her heart is pounding. She feels a warm rush of blood through her body as her thoughts turn from innocent to something else. She feels his hands holding onto her shoulders and she realizes that he's trying to get her to look him in the eyes, not at his lips. He has lowered his head to be at eye level with him.

"I thought I lost you there for a moment." He whispers.

His mouth is mere inches from her own. She can feel the warmth of his breath on her lips as he speaks to her. She catches herself looking at his lips again. If there was ever a time to kiss John Doggett, it would be now, but...

"Did you say something?" She nervously shifts her gaze to his eyes, hoping beyond all hope that he couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

"I did."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

He smiles at her.

"I asked for your keys. I don't think we're going to get your car out of the ditch tonight. I'm cold, you're cold and I think we both just want to get home and catch some Zs before tomorrow morning."

"Right, um..." She digs into her coat pocket and retrieves her keys and hands them to him. "Here."

He takes them from her and, with a wink of his eye and a crooked grin; he turns his back to her and goes to lock up her car.

---

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA DECEMBER 25, 2001 12:28 A.M.

John pulls up into his driveway and turns off the headlights. He looks to his right at Dana.

"Home, sweet, home."

"I hope your family doesn't mind my intrusion, John. I just think it's safer for the both of us if I stay here tonight."

John opens the car door and gets out of his truck. She does the same.

"Dana, I invited you here. Plus I have this feeling that my Ma and my sister would love to meet you."

He walks next to her, offering her his arm. She takes it, resting one hand on his forearm. They walk up the stairs to his front porch and stop at the front door. Though the snow continues to fall and the wind chill makes it unbearably cold, neither one of them feels it's the right time to go inside just yet.

Dana turns to face John, she holds onto his arms with her hands and looks up into his eyes.

"Thank you." She hesitates. "Thank you for braving the weather and coming out to help me."

"You're welcome."

It's amazing how silent the night can become when snow has fallen on the ground. She can hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. She feels butterflies in her stomach, that feeling of wanting to kiss the man in front of her, but not knowing if he'll do it or not. She's known for some time now that he's been harboring feelings for her, but would he... will he ever act on those feelings? The answer to that question she can't answer. The moment is about to pass and he takes one step away from her and rubs his finger underneath his nose.

"We should get inside."

He moves to open the front door with his key, but Dana takes hold of his arm to stop him. He looks at her, bewildered as to why she still wants to stand outside in the cold.

"John... is it all right if I kiss you?" She speaks softly.

He blinks his eyes. Her question has caught him off-guard. He never expected her to ask him this. He always figured if they ever found themselves in a situation where a kiss would be appropriate that he'd be the one to make the first move. Never in his life would he expect this from her so soon. He runs his hand through his hair and if it were any lighter out she would see that he is blushing.

Dana reaches up and touches the side of his face, forcing him to look at her. He sees that her question is a sincere question. He answers her with a quiet:

"Of course."

She brushes her fingertips over his lips and leans in and gently places her lips on his. They close their eyes. She places small kisses on his upper lip and feels him place his hands on her waist as she touches his face. There's no tongue in this kiss, just a simple exploration of a basic erogenous zone. She gently caresses his jaw and runs her fingers through his hair as he pulls her body closer to him, holding his hands now on her lower back. He lowers his head and their lips part, and she places a soft kiss on his closed eye.

She rests her head on his forehead and catches her breath. Though there was no tongue in their first kiss, it still took her breath away. She pulls away from his forehead and looks him in the eyes. He brushes his thumb over her cheekbone, and then slides it behind her head and pulls her toward him for another kiss.

This time his lips gently kiss at her upper and lower lips. The sensation is tantalizing. She parts her lips slightly and lets out a small breath. She carefully runs her tongue along his lips, welcoming a more passionate exploration of each other, if that's what he wants. She feels him part his lips and she tilts her head to the side as his tongue enters her mouth. He moves his hands up to gently caress her shoulders.

Her heart is pounding in her chest.

He stops kissing her for a moment to catch his breath, and he moves his fingertips to caress the fine hairs on the back of her neck. She pulls him back toward her and kisses him again, holding on firmly to the back of his neck, pressing her chest against his body. His tongue is soft and the kissing is slow. She lets out a soft moan and takes a break to catch her breath.

This is perfect.

This is a moment that she'll never forget.

She looks into his eyes as he places a strand of hair behind her ear, taking his time to let his hand caress the side of her neck as it makes its way back to holding her shoulder, and then down to hold her hand. He takes her hand into his own and raises it to his lips and kisses the back of her hand.

Dana moves closer to him in order to whisper into his ear. She rises on her toes and lets out a breath of warm air on his earlobe.

"And to think... we're not even underneath a mistletoe." She smiles at him.

John laughs, trying not to be too loud so that he doesn't wake his sister and niece. He smiles at Dana.

"Dana... I..." He doesn't know how to suggest they get inside now.

"I know." She smiles. "If we don't get inside and to sleep now, we'll never be able to get up in time to be with our families Christmas morning."

John smiles at her, with a happiness that she's never before seen on his face. She's certain she must have that same expression on her face now too. Both of them have been unhappy for so long and tonight something happened between them that both of them have wanted for some time now.

He opens his front door and they quietly enter. He motions for her to follow him upstairs to his bedroom. She knows that the only kissing that they'll do tonight will be a kiss goodnight, and she knows that he's gentleman enough to not expect anything more from her even if they do share a bed.

What they both know, but do not say, at least not tonight, is that the kiss they shared out on his porch early this Christmas morning, was the beginning of a lifetime of happiness that they will share together.

THE END 


End file.
